Anyone else a bit paranoid about fire safety?

[critterguy]

Just wondering if I am the only one with qualms about using heating equipment such as heatpads/basking lamps. I have thus tried to restrict my collection to reptiles ok with room temp but bluetongues really appreciate and need the temp gradient. I've read about several people having fires caused by faulty heattape in racks-knocked over basking lamps, etc. Be nice to have a fire safety thread.

[Coomassie]

I can't say I'm all that paranoid about it. I'm more concerned about an electrical outage in the winter but I can understand where you are coming from. The fact of the matter is, as long as you are regularly inspecting all of our heating elements and using them properly, the chances of a fire are pretty rare. We have all of our heating elements on thermostats to prevent them from getting too hot, we have all of our heat lights in such a way that they can't be knocked over and all the cords are safely out of the way of human and reptile traffic. I also regularly inspect my heating elements to ensure no frayed wires or any other problems. A little upkeep and preventative measures will go a long way.

Not to say that accidents don't happen but I think there are a ton of steps people can make to prevent them.

[xxmonitorlizardxx]

I have heard of accidents where people's houses have burned down. I think that happend to someone on this site too. :/

[Fatal_S]

I try to avoid heating supplies that are capable of getting hot enough to be dangerous, and rheostats are probably worth their weight in gold to avoid worrying about overheating. Instead of heat tape, I use heat cable or heat pads that don't get hot enough to hurt anything. I used to avoid lamps, but now I just use the lowest wattage possible to get the heat I need, and the skinks haven't had an issue with the lamps yet.

Technically, anything in your house (toaster, fridge, etc) can start a fire if things go wrong. I have boxes available near my tanks to remove animals quickly if I ever need to. But other than being safety conscious, it's not worth the stress worrying constantly IMO.

That said, when I get to build my reptile-stable, I'll have automatic sprinklers to drown any fire that dare appear (with floor drains so the skinks don't drown under the water should the sprinklers go off)

[Katrina]

I try to avoid heating supplies that are capable of getting hot enough to be dangerous, and rheostats are probably worth their weight in gold to avoid worrying about overheating.

Yeah, use some kind of dimmer or thermostat to prevent overheating.

The common item in all of the fires you hear about (being reptile related) is that they never thought the UTH would overheat. Although you will never have zero risk, if you use the proper equipment and use precaution the risk is very low. I have never heard of a fire when the person was using a thermostat / rheostat. For heat bulbs - just use good quality equipment and it is always good to have a dimmer or thermostat even if using a low wattage bulb.

From what I've seen, fires happen (or reptiles get burned) when people are using low quality UTHs with no dimmer. There are obviously exceptions to this, but this is the story I've read about lots.

I'm also concerned about the risk of fire, but with the set up I have I think the greater fire risk is the boyfriend cooking!

Good discussion though, it is always good to inform people.

[brunetteoctober]

We had a fire over the winter in the animal room, however it wasn't started by any of the reptile equipment, it was the wall heater that caught. Like others have said, precaution is necessary, a smoke detector is of course a must, but if you're planning the space for your reptiles with fire precaution in mind, you'll be in good shape.

The smoke from the fire we had initially killed everything that wasn't a reptile or amphibian (minus two or three). All of the surviving reptiles were seen by the vet and only a handful (out of dozens) needed treatment, mostly for respiratory issues. Months later, the larger reptiles, monitors, tegus, iguanas, snakes; started dying one by one. After a few died, we had an autopsy and it was determined respiratory issues and damage, and this was after being treated and appearing fine for months. Others have had other issues pop up.

Although there was significant loss, we thought we had come out of a fire lucky with the majority of the animals in tact. However, the damage has continued to mount, even after cleaning up and putting things back together.

But anyways, that's my fire story. Again, it wasn't caused by reptile equipment but by the wall heater. It just happened in the animal room.

[critterguy]

Brunetteoctober: Sorry to hear your story...shows to go that it can happen to just about anyone.

I'd assume "everything else" was birds and mammals? It is interesting the reptiles held out so long-but with reduced oxygen needs perhaps they are less affected. Wonder if perhaps burning plastic or foam produced noxious fumes that got them versus just being exposed to burning wood or paper

What ticks me off personally is people who smoke around their reptiles. Yet sofari as I can see their animals don't seem adversely affected-though I'm sure autopsy would show evidence of damage and that such exposure increases chances of RI's and other ailments-but this is way OT.

Beanfarm carries ultratherm matts that are supposed to be safe to use even without a thermo/rheostat. Apparently they are designed so they can't get over 95. I know very little about electricity so it'd be nice to get an electrician or someone who actually absorbed physics to discuss this issue.

[El Lobo]

I'm also concerned about the risk of fire, but with the set up I have I think the greater fire risk is the boyfriend cooking!

I have someone near and dear who thinks the smoke detector's purpose is to signal that food is ready.

[Nae]

I'm also concerned about the risk of fire, but with the set up I have I think the greater fire risk is the boyfriend cooking!

I have someone near and dear who thinks the smoke detector's purpose is to signal that food is ready.

Wait...Its not??

[reaperreptiles]

I use the lowest wattage bulbs just in case, my animal room stays pretty warm so low wattage works just fine for me. I never ever use UTH just because I dont trust them with overheating. As for my lights I have my tanks up high on stands or cabinets away from my son's reach and out of the way in case someone where to bumb into a cage. My cords are tucked back behind heavy furniture to avoid people tripping over them and knocking over lights. For the moment i have my chameleon cages on my floor but all the chords are tucked behind the screens. Until we move the room into the basement (whenever it is finished) I will have them on a high table away from my son. I check all my lighting supplies every 4 hours or so just to be safe. i dont have to worry about my skink tanks at all, they are pretty fire-proof but for the chameleons I have to monitor them alot.

I used to have an iguana named Lucifer, i had him in a huge reptarium with lights up top. Well my other iguana (who was very old and vitually never left my bed) decided one day to climb the reptarium and knock down all the lights. Needless to say I got a very angry phone call from my mother. Luckily we had high temp carpets that melted instead of catch fire. I always prefer to keep reptiles in a room that is wood or tile as appose to carpet but somtimes that can be impossible if your entire house is carpet.